Bienvenu Steinberg & C is pleased to present the first exhibition in the United States of works by the distinguished Korean artist Heryun Kim. With numerous museum exhibitions in Korea and Germany, Kim has strived to deepen the perception and appreciation of Korea’s cultural heritage.
The centerpiece of Kim’s New York debut is an installation of 164 ink drawings on paper titled Hwangnam Daechong Tomb. Created in 2017, this monumental work was inspired by a metalwork saddle discovered in the Great Tomb of Hwangnam, a major archeological site of the Silla Kingdom that is located within a UNESCO World Heritage site. Commenting on her response to an artifact known as the Saddle of Hwangnam Daechong, the artist notes: “At first glance, the repeated curves and straight lines seem to have a common pattern, but if you continue to copy them closely, you will find out that there is no fixed rule in this pattern. Far from forming an identical pattern, the lines spontaneously vary little by little each time. In the pattern of the saddle, you will find the codes of those ancient people who were experienced adventurers…”
Born in Changwon, South Korea (1964), Heryun Kim explores nature, humanity, and historical identity. Parallel to Kim’s exploration of Korean prehistory is an extensive body of work inspired by the visual simplicity of Korean script. Kim reimagines traditional Korean art and ancient culture through the invention of a new abstract language, that bridges ancient and modern. Kim’s work is largely influenced by her sensorial experience and an attempt to give physical form to a spoken landscape.
Heryun Kim majored in German Language & Literature and Art Theory at Seoul National University (1988), then studied painting at the Berlin University of the Arts in Germany (1993) and received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Berlin Univerity of Technology (1998). Select solo exhibitions include: Shoes for Art, Stadtmuseum Berlin Ephraim-Palais, Berlin (2005); Letters Carved on Painting, Soma Museum, Seoul (2011); and Sound of Silence - German Forest, Kunsthalle Dresden, Dresden (2019); among others. Her works are housed in numerous institutions, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea; the Louis Vuitton Foundation, France; the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, South Korea; and the Jeonnam Museum of Art, South Korea.